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Myint and May lived peacefully as they ministered in Myanmar. And then, in one day, everything changed.
Before 2021, Pastor Myint* and his wife May* resided with their children in a Buddhist-majority area in central Myanmar. They had lived there peacefully for more than five years and had a good relationship with the head of the village. Pastor Myint befriended the rest of the villagers, and he and May did their best to help their community however they could. In return, their neighbors accepted and respected the couple.
"Because of the war and persecution, many believers are displaced."
May*, Myanmar believer
But even as they built trust, some Buddhist leaders were annoyed by Myint's presence and Christian faith. Fortunately, Pastor Myint was safe since he was under the protection of the democratically elected village head.
However, when he shared the gospel with some villagers, things grew more tense. He remembers one villager, U Tun*, who decided to follow Christ. His conversion spurred opposition. "When U Tun became a believer, his family ridiculed him, and his own son physically assaulted him," Myint says. "Thankfully, U Tun continued living his faith, and the villagers noted the positive changes in his life. Then they became curious to learn about Jesus, asking who could transform a person's life in this way?"
That's when Pastor Myint moved his family to the periphery of the village, where he bought land to build a house and started leading regular fellowship.
This inflamed the situation even more. "I became an eyesore to that religious leader and his followers," he says. Still, despite the growing hostility toward them, Myint and his family were safe because of their good standing in the community.
And then the coup happened.
On February 1, 2021, the military overthrew the government of Myanmar, re-establishing a military junta like the one that ruled Myanmar for 50 years in the second half of the 20th century. The coup was followed by days and weeks of public protests and mass rallies in many towns and cities.
The military coup affected the lives of everyone in Myanmar, including Pastor Myint and his family. Just as the democratically elected government was usurped at the national level, the ward administrators, and heads of local villages, townships and cities were removed from their posts and replaced by officers from the military or supporters of the military.
The situation in Pastor Myint's village changed drastically as supporters of the military came to power. The village head was changed, and Pastor Myint and his family lost their protection. "After the coup began, Christians in our village became very vulnerable," he remembers.
The religious leaders were well connected to the new government and decided to press their advantage. They began to incite hatred in the community toward Pastor Myint and his family. They accused Myint of being an outsider, worshiping a foreign religion, and trying to share his faith with the people around them. Pastor Myint did his best to answer the accusations, but it was difficult now that the political reality had changed overnight.
Myint's eyes glisten with tears as he relives the events that followed. "One of the religious leaders instigated the richest man in our village against me," he says. "They then gathered some young men and offered them alcohol, instructing them to kill me and my sons. Thankfully, some villagers notified me of their plan; the next moment, I took my sons and hurried out of the village."
Myint and his sons were temporarily safe—but the rest of their family was still in the village. "Young drunk men barged into my house looking for me and my sons," Myint says. "My wife and daughter were home. Though the men did not hurt them, [May and my daughter] were very scared. After barging into my house, they [the men] waited for us. When we did not return, the attackers killed two Burmese villagers who had shown interest in the Christian faith."
Weighing the risks, Pastor Myint and his sons decided not to return to the village and moved to a new location. May and their daughter followed them to the new place. "One of our church elders assisted in bringing my wife and daughter to the new location," he says, slowly. "However, because of the incident, my wife has developed anxiety. When the attackers learned that all of us had fled the village, they looted our house, taking all our possessions. Then they burned down our house."
Myint finds it hard to control his tears as memories seem so fresh. "It feels as if it happened just yesterday," he says.
Myint and his family have now settled in a new place where things are safer. However, like many other displaced believers from Myanmar, he suffers financially as he has no source of income. When Open Doors partners learned about him, they were able to encourage him and provide the family with groceries.
May was tearful when she received the help. She's grateful for the aid provided by the gifts and prayers of Open Doors supporters. "After we were displaced, no one else has even bothered to ask us about our welfare," she says. "We are so thankful to you for listening to our story and helping us."
Pastor Myint is confident that his God is sovereign and focuses on serving Him. But he is still burdened for the people he has been called to serve. "I still worry about the spiritual well-being of the believers who are displaced to various places because of the conflict and oppression," he says.
May shares her concerns about what the coup and the current civil war will mean for believers in Myanmar. "We have been in the ministry for many years, and we have seen many people come to Christ," she says. "Because of the war and persecution, many believers are displaced, and we have lost connection with them. Please pray that God will be with them and that they will remain faithful to Jesus."
*Names changed for security reasons
